Taipei police slammed for poor crime-fighting record

By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Wang Shih-cheng (王世堅) yesterday slammed the Taipei City Police Department for what he described as a poor crime-fighting record, with only 93 arrests from more than 24,000 police actions over the past two years.

In Wanhua District (萬華), for example, of the 1,900 raids and roadside inspections conducted over the two years, the department only recorded six illegalities.

Department records showed that its branch in Songshan District (松山), with many sex clubs under its jurisdictions, found just seven illegalities in raids.

“There are more than 500 hostess bars in Wanhua District, and the biggest sex club in Taipei is located in Songshan District. The number of arrests by the police in these two districts over the past two years was less than 10 each. Can you believe it? Is that acceptable?” Wang said during a question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Council.

He also raised the issue of crimes committed by police officers, as he cited reports and said that the number of police officers who were involved in crimes such as theft and offenses of malfeasance reached 162 over the past two years.

“The crimes found within the police department are more than the illegalities in broad raids. The department needs to enhance disciplinary action for police officers,” he said.

Taipei Police Commissioner Huang Sheng-yung (黃昇勇) acknowledged the low number of illegalities found in regular raids and roadside inspections, but insisted that such raids worked as a preventative measure in crime-fighting efforts.

“The raids and inspections aim to prevent crimes. Club owners, hostess bars and gang members tended to refrain from committing crimes after we started the raids,” he said.

Huang said the crimes committed by the police were found through internal investigations, and the crime rate among police personnel has dropped over the years.

“The department will continue to improve the discipline of its police force and eliminate black sheep within the department,” he said.